Index



G. C. PARSONS.

INDEX.

APPLICATION EILED MAR. 1|. 1920.

1,404,5 Patented Jan. 24,1922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

Ruff/5% I G. c. PARSONS.

llNDEX. APPLICATION FILED MAR, H. 1920.

1,404,54 Pafented' Jan. 24,1922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

PATENT OFFICE.

enema c. masons, or 31mm, ILLINOIS.

INDEX.

Specification of Letters Patent,

Patented Jan. 24,1922.

Application filed larch 11, 1920. Serial No. 865,119.

To all whom'z't may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE C. PARSONS,

a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Berwyn, in the county of Cook and State df Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Indexes, of which the following is a full, clear and exact specification.

My invention is concerned with index books, and is desi ed to produce such a book that shall have a double index system associated with the various pages thereof so that an investigation of its contents can be made more readily than if only a single index system were employed.

To this end, it consists 01f a novel structure and arrangement of the indexes, which I have illustrated as applied to the index system developed for use in filing phonograph records.

To illustrate my invention, I annex hereto two sheets of drawin of which- Fig. 1 is a View of the index book closed; Fig. 2 is a view of the same opened at the ig 3 is a view of one olf the sheets before 1t has been placed in the book and the selections written thereon; and

Fig. 4 is a side elevation on an enlarged scale with portions of the s eets spread out to illustrate more clearly the mechanical construction.

In carrying out my invention in its preferred form it is desirable to produce a book in which the sheets going to make up the pages shall be bound at one edge preferably by a binding that W111 permit of its opemng to a flat posltion and in which the sheets are spread out on another edge so that each sheet has a substantial part (if said edge exposed for index purposes. As a convenient means for formin such a book, I take a plurality of ruled s eets a of the same length, and then 3 read them out so that the top and bottom es of each sheet are 011:-

set enough from t e sheet below it so as to leave a portion df each sheet exposed at one edge ereof, and then I fold all the sheets thus spread out once, preferably at a point where the turned over edge of the topmost sheet will leave 'ust as much of the lower edge of'the same s eet exposed as the edges of the other sheets are exposed, and then secure the folded sheets together, pref- 56- erably adding a cover b and securing them by two or more staples c or a ring (1. It

is of'course possible to carry out the main feature of my invention in what I consider a somewhat mferior form by. using a plural1tly, of sheets (if different lengths and fastenlng them, unfolded, at one edge, with the shortest one on top and the others graduated down to the longest one at the bottom, so as to leave a uniform amount of the edga of each sheet exposed as before.

here the invention is used lfor a phonograph record lndex, I preferably employ 14 sheets (1, 1f they are doubled, or 28, if not dou'bled. On the top and bottom corners at one s1de (preferably at both sides) of the upper face of the uppermost sheet when the back is opened and'flattened out at its center, I pr nt the index letter N, and on the top of its back and on the to of the front of the sheet below it I print the index letter M, while on the bottom of the back of the uppermost sheet and on the bottom of the front of the second sheet, I print the mdex letter O. On the top of the third sheet, I print the lndex letter L and on the back of the top of the second I df the back of the second sheet and on the top of the front sheet and on the front of the bottom 01f I the third sheet, I print the index letter P,

and so on until the alphabet is exhausted.

With this arrangement, when the book is closed, as seen in Fig. 1, the index letters A, B, C, etc., appear in alphabetical order on one or both sides, andwhen the book is opened up, as at the pa e indexed K, as seen 1n Fig. 2, the index etter K appears at the top and bottom.

Each sheet is preferably cross-lined and ruled, as seen, in four column and the narrow first column is headed No. for the number of the selection in the file or rack where they are kept, and the wider second column is headed Selection and in this column is written the name of the selection correspondm to the number in the same cross-hne. he third column is headed Glam, for the character of the selections, while the fourth column' is headed Performer for the name of the individual or orgamzation performing in making the record. Of course all selections beginning with a K will be written on the top of the page marked K at the top. On the other ages will be entered similarly the names of t e selections beginning with the letters to which the pages are devoted.

In addition to the alphabetical index of the name of the selection, I include a second index for the character of the selections, which I have for example classified as Recitations; Comic; Whistling; Childrens stories; Childrens songs, Patriotic; Hawaiian; Dance; Band; Orchestra, Instrumental; Overture; Opera; Chorus; Quartette; Duet; Hymns; Bass solos, Tenor solos; Soprano solos; and Contralto solos, one on the bottom of each ex posed edge, and as'the selections under this index are written in at the bottom part, as seen in Fig. 2, and the upper pages are the shorter, I have arranged these character classification indexes beginning with the least numerous class at the top and with the most numerous at the bottom, and with the intermediate ones grouped as. nearly in their general proportions'as they occur in libraries of records as may be. As the bottom of the final. sheet has noletter indexcharacter, I print Record suggestions thereon, so as to write on that page suggestions of good recorlds that are made from time to time by friends.

With a library thus indexed it will be obvious that the presence or absence of any particular record, and its location, can be quickly ascertained by using the alphabetical index, and if the investigator is unfamiliar with the contents and likes certain kinds of records, by opening a page according to the character classification, he can quickly find out what particular, records he would like to hear and where they are found.

While I have shown my invention as applied to an index for phonograph records, it will be understood that it is capable of much wider application, and that it may be used to index books, papers, patterns and other articles and records of various characters, and that accordingly I do not desire to be limited in the interpretation of the following claims, except as may be necessitated by the state of the prior art.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In an index, a plurality of sheets secured together at the binding side to form a book and having their. edges at another side stepped so that said of all the sheets are exposed, and two 'iferent sheet indexes on the exposed portion of each of said edges, and entries under one index on the surface of the page containing the exposed indexes and entries under the other index on the surface of the page adjacent the last mentioned page when the book is closed.

2. In an index, a luralityof sheets secured together at the inding side to form a book and having their edges at another side stepped so that said edges of all the sheets are exposed, and two difi'erent sheet indexes on the exposed portion of each of said edges, and column indexes on the surfaces of the pages hidden when the book is closed so that entries may be further clasified.

3. In an index, a plurality of sheets secured at the binding side to form a book and having their edges at another side stepped so that said edges of all the sheets are exposed, and two different sheet indexes on the exposed portion of each of said edges, column indexes on the surfaces of the pages hidden when the book is closed so that entries may be further classified, and entries under one index on the surface of the page containing the exposed indexes and entries under the other indexes on the surface of the page adjacent the last mentioned page when the book is closed, said entries being placed in the appropriate columns under the column indexes.

4;. In an index, a plurality of sheets secured together at the binding side to form a book, and having their edges atthe 0 p0- site side stepped so that said edges 0 all the sheets are exposed, and two different sheet indexes on the exposed portion of each of said edges, and entries under one index on the surface of the page containing the exposed indexes and for the other index on the surface of the page adj agent the last mentioned page when the'book is closed.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and afiixed my seal this sixth day of March, A. D. 1920.

GEORGE C. PARSONS. [1 s1 

